Jan Brueghel the Elder, 
Flemish 1568-1625- 

Street view at Spa, with figures in the distance, and a church spire beyond; 

pen and sepia ink on paper, inscribed 'Spa' (upper edge), 10.9 x 17.8 cm. 

Provenance: 
Sotheby's London, Old Master Drawings, 1 December 1964, lot 2 (to H. Calmann). 
With H. Calmann, London, prior to 1982. 
Private Collection, UK. 

Published: 
C. van Hasselt and R. DHulst, 'Flemish Drawings of the Seventeenth Century from the Collection of Frits Lugt', London: Victoria and Albert Museum & Paris: Institut Néerlandais & Bern: Kunstmuseum & Brussels: Koninklijke Bibliotheek Albert I). Institut Néerlandais, p. 22 and note 7, under no. 14. 

M. Winner, M., Neubestimmtes und Unbestimmtes im zeichnerischen Werk von Jan Brueghel der Ältere. Jahrbuch Der Berliner Museen, 14, 1972, 122–160, pp. 150 and 152, fig. 31. 

L. Pironet, 'Spa et Brueghel de Velours: l'album du voyage a Spa de Jan Brueghel dit de Velours, contenant trois dessins du ma itre, inedits en la ville d'eaux.' Bruxelles: Bibliotheque Royale, 1987, pp. 35-7, fig. 16. 

T. Gerszi, Pieter Breughel der Jüngere - Jan Brueghel der Ältere : Flämische Malerei um 1600 : Tradition und Fortschritt (Exhibition Catalogue Vienna: Kunsthistorisches Museum), 1997, pp. 39 and 41. 

Note: 
Jan Brueghel was the younger son of the iconic Northern Renaissance master Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c.1525-1569), and became a highly successful painter in his own right, continuing his father's legacy and cementing the Brueghels as one of the most influential dynasties in Flemish art. While his brother, Pieter Brueghel the Younger (1564-1638), devoted much of his career to reinterpreting and replicating their father's famous scenes of peasant life, Jan Brueghel's oeuvre is incredibly varied, and includes mythological, Biblical and classical scenes, as well as landscapes. His refined and smooth handling of paint earned him the nickname 'Velvet Brueghel'. He may have honed his distinctive and detailed technique during the years he spent in Italy, where he worked alongside Hans Rottenhammer (1564-1625), who was known for his fine cabinet pictures. After his return to Antwerp in the late 16th century, Jan continued to frequently collaborate with other masters throughout his career, including Hendrick van Balen (c.1573/5-1632) and also Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), with whom he developed a close friendship. 
A prolific draughtsman, Jan Brueghel's oeuvre also features many refined and acutely observed sketches of the towns and cities he visited on his travels, such as the example presented here. 
The present drawing was likely executed during the summer of 1612, when Jan Brueghel is known to have travelled to the town of Spa, a place known for its medicinal waters. A drawing of Spa by Jan Brueghel I, also dated to c.1612, is in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio [1979.26 (Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund)]. Another, similar drawing dating from that year and probably also depicting the same town is in the collection of the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge [PD.212-1963]. Two figure studies of men and women drinking the waters at Spa were sold at Christie's London, 6 July 2004, lot 163. 

We are grateful to Dr Louisa Wood Ruby for kindly providing additional background and bibliography for this drawing.